A/N: Missed writing this! Enjoy!
NINETEEN
All of Me
Oliver stopped the car across the street from Lana's old house. His stomach churned with the possibility of the only inhabitant finding them there. Wendy Peyser had said she never wanted to see Lana again. She had made her choice and there was no going back. Lana, however, had not made that choice. She probably didn't even know she had it.
Lana glanced out the window, eyes on the house. Her honey browns scanned the house, trying to remember anything but there was no familiarity, no inkling feeling. To her it was just a house; a stranger's home not her own. She looked at the potted plants on the porch and the bricks on the walkway. She tried to imagine herself watering those plants or walking upon those bricks on her way to the front door but there was nothing. Not one single memory.
Oliver remained quiet. His gaze was on Lana, quietly studying her frame to catch the slightest glimpse of a reaction but there was none. Lana just stared at the house in silence. It was almost unsettling not knowing.
"I…" She tried to speak but her lip only quivered slightly, unable to find the right thing to say.
"Lana?" Oliver spoke, breaking the silence. "What is it?" Perhaps he could coax it out of her.
Lana glanced around the neighborhood. "I don't remember it." She admitted and she seemed almost disappointed but more confused than anything. "This house, this neighborhood. I don't feel anything." She met Oliver's gaze, worry crossed her eyes. "Are you sure this is the place?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Oliver placed his hand upon hers. "Lana, it's alright if you don't remember."
The sound of a car entered the neighborhood and they both turned around to see the car pull up into the driveway. Oliver tensed and pressed himself back into his seat while Lana leaned towards the window, curious to see who had arrived at the home without any fear. The car's lights turned off and the engine settled.
Oliver immediately recognized the woman who stepped out from the driver's side. Wendy Peyser. Lana's old lover. He felt himself tense as if in that moment he'd lose Lana to her. The feeling made him feel foolish. However, what Oliver wasn't expecting was the second person to exit the car. Another woman. She was about the same age, short blond hair, dazzling smile. He had never seen her before.
The two women laughed as they exited the car together and walked up to the home. There was a sense of familiarity to them as if they were very comfortable with one another. Lana kept her gaze on them. Her eyes studied Wendy but nothing in her brain clicked, not in the way she had been hoping at least. It was her heart that ached when she saw the brunette woman. Lana didn't exactly know what it meant but it felt as if she had once seen her in a dream. The blond woman, however, neither her mind or her heart skipped a beat when she saw her.
The two stopped before the front door and the blond woman leaned in close to Wendy, whispering something in her ear. The two laughed and stepped inside the house. Before Wendy closed the door, her head turned side to side as if making sure no one was watching. She didn't see the car across the street and closed the door.
Lana leaned back against her seat, pondering to herself.
"Lana?" Oliver couldn't stand the silence. What was she thinking? Did she recognize that woman as her lover?
"Oliver." She spoke without a beat, "Take me home, please." She said the word 'home' with so much confidence.
Oliver nodded; there was no hesitation.
Oliver made himself a martini in the bar of his home. Lana had gone to her room after they arrived home. She went inside without a word and Oliver wondered if she had remembered Wendy. He didn't want to ask and prod into Lana's possible suffering. Did she remember Wendy? Did she realize she had moved on with someone else? The thought saddened Oliver if anything. To think that this Wendy Peyser had just abandoned Lana and replaced her for someone new without any damage to her mind or heart. It was sickening.
Oliver didn't see Lana as someone damaged. He saw her as someone who had suffered and possessed enough strength to better herself because of it. Just like the phoenix born from its own ashes, she too would rise. It was almost funny to him how highly he thought of Lana. Of course he had never been so close to a woman before. He had been with women in his past but none at such an emotional level. He also never really had to explain a monthly period to any of them either.
Oliver took his drink and went to the radio; jazz always seemed to brighten Lana's mood. So he put the music to a soft volume and went to sit down, hoping she could hear it from her room. He twirled his drink and took a sip, his mind still on what had happened earlier that evening.
All of Me by Billie Holiday played on the radio. Oliver mused at the lyrics of the song. Somehow they seemed so fitting. He leaned his head back and took a drink. Just when he did so his eyes caught Lana standing on the entrance to the hallway. She was dressed in only her nighty. It wasn't the first time Oliver had seen her dressed in just that but the look in her eyes was what caught him off guard.
He coughed and cleared his throat. "Lana?" What is it?"
Lana pushed herself off the wall and went towards Oliver, perching herself on top of him. Shocked and utterly star struck, Oliver dropped his half finished drink onto the carpet as Lana pushed him further back against the sofa.
"What are you doing?" He asked in a whisper.
Lana cupped his face her in her hands and studied his eyes. There was a kindness in them that she had never seen in anyone before.
Earlier that evening when she saw Wendy Peyser outside of the home they once owned together, Lana didn't remember a thing. The brunette woman brought no feelings of longing, loss or love. She was but another face in the crowd. Another face she was already forgetting. Sooner or later she would forget all together but the way she felt in that moment for the man on that sofa, that might never fade away.
Lana had already accepted that her past was never coming back and that perhaps Oliver Thredson in his one story suburban home was her future.
Oliver held her gaze, watching as her eyes shimmered with every thought that crossed her mind. He felt so useless beneath her gaze, as if he had lost control of his anatomy.
"I don't think-" He tried to speak.
Perhaps she wasn't thinking clearly. Perhaps she was confused. The last thing Oliver wanted was for her to do something she would regret. He never wanted to hurt her but he'd be a liar if he said he didn't want to rip her clothes off then and there.
"Shh, I'm thinking." Lana interrupted him.
"Thinking what?" He was almost afraid to ask.
"Thinking about how I'll be a fool in the morning."
"I never pegged you as one." he whispered.
Lana leaned in and pressed her lips against his with a hunger that was so new but so welcome. Oliver placed his hands on her back, the soft feel of her skin against his fingers. He too felt that longing growing stronger with each single day. Every time Lana flashed a smile his way he felt it grow. He couldn't help but to fall for her.
Oliver used his strength to lay Lana down on the sofa as he perched on top of her. Her hands made their way to his shirt, hungrily unbuttoning it. He stopped her just before she reached the buttons above his belt.
"Lana, wait." He stopped, gazing down at her.
He must have been a mad man for stopping there and there but Lana's past worried him. She had not been one for men. What had changed now?
"Are you sure?" he asked afraid that she would come to her senses.
But instead she held his gaze not once looking away. Her mind was still a haze. There were things about herself that she still couldn't remember. She had loved women that she knew but what she felt for Oliver was so alarming she couldn't ignore it.
"I've never been with a man before." She admitted. It was almost a whisper.
"We don't have to do this." he assured her.
Lana nodded. Reaching up to the collar of his shirt and yanking him closer to her. "I want to be with you..." She whispered in his ear.
Oliver didn't think twice and kissed her. Slowly taking off her nighty and dropping it to the floor. If they were to regret their actions they would do so in the morning.
